Bitcoin teeters after Grayscale owner DCB reveals it's $2bn in debt
Grayscale owner DCB has revealed that it is $2bn (£1.65bn) in debt, causing the value of bitcoin to look increasingly precarious due to the company's digital asset holdings and its ownership of troubled crypto lender Genesis.
The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is one of the world's largest holders of bitcoin (BTC-USD), with a stash totalling 643,572 BTC, worth $10.6bn. This is approximately 3% of all available bitcoin.
Grayscale could be affected by the recent collapse of crypto exchange FTX as its parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG) also owns Genesis which has been forced to halt customer withdrawals.
The lending platform has $175m in locked funds on bankrupt exchange FTX and investors are waiting to see if DCG will bail out the struggling subsidiary.
In a note to shareholders on Tuesday, DCG founder Barry Silbert attempted to calm investor nerves about the financial health of DCG’s subsidiaries Genesis, Grayscale Investments and mining company Foundry.